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joe henry No one came to see the house this evening and I slept the longest that I have all week. A few years ago when I was visiting my brother at his college, he introduced me to the music of Joe Henry. All that I had to hear was that one album called Trampoline and I was hooked. Recently both of us bought the latest release by Joe and I don't think that our opinions of it could be any more different. He thinks that it is his best album to date, but I am confused by the new direction that Joe has chosen. It all sounds overblown to me. The earlier albums are much more humble and pleasing. It was the folk element of the songs that appealed the most to me and all of that seems to be lost on the latest album. My brother sent me a long elaborate review of the cd with various comments on the songs and all that I could say was that only one song appealed to me. There are times when our musical tastes intersect. Shared favorites would include Bowie, The Replacements, The Ramones, Chris Isaak and Joe Henry. My brother, however, delves far deeper into country music than I would ever dare to do. Now that my place is clean, I am starting to wonder if I really want to move. Every time I look around me it seems so inviting. Why would I want to leave my little shelter? What is bothering me so much about my place that I am looking elsewhere? I think most of my hesitation on moving is based on money. Since the rent is so low, I make a nice profit every month and I'm not sure if I want to sink that cash buffer into a higher rent payment. Future vacations would stop and so would any enhancements for my computer. The money just wouldn't be available anymore if I moved. Now if this line of reasoning will carry me through a sweltering hot summer and another winter of parking my car on an ice covered driveway with three-foot drifts around my car, I can't say. Lying in the middle of the living room floor staring at the ceiling with Third Eye Blind on the stereo, I can't imagine being anywhere else. Cold rain is falling outside my window and I don't care. I am warm and there is music to fill my mind. Everything else slips away. When I let myself step back for a moment, I would have to say that my life is pretty good. There are times when I lack focus, but I wouldn't say that I am going through the motions anymore. Nor do I see my life as being detached. Oh, I still don't understand what motivates other people, but my life seems to be in order. No, I don't have that many answers, but my stress level has certainly gone down and I try not to let things bother me as much anymore. Of course this will mean that I am due for a massive explosive of anger sometime soon. The only concerns that I have in life are mine. I can be selfish and indulge in things that aren't necessary. My job provides me with enough money to be able to travel and feel secure in my home. Maybe I should have outgrown the urge to explore at my age, but it hasn't happened yet. I still want to see the rest of the world, no matter how pointless it my seem to some people. I might even say that I have a career path going right now. Despite my whining from time to time, the computer field has been a good choice for me. Sometimes I am so dumb that I amaze myself. For months now I have been writing part of the journal entries at work and then retyping them when I get home. Why I didn't save them to disk before now is beyond me. Maybe I secretly enjoyed typing the same paragraphs twice a day only a few hours apart. The thought of sending the entry home through email makes me paranoid for some reason. They don't need to know my home email address.
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